City Research Online

Abstract

This article revisits the copyright status of John Cage’s 4’33" considering recent developments in UK copyright law. In doing so, the article makes two contributions. On a narrow level, the article argues that recent changes to copyrightable subject matter make it less likely, and not more, that a court today would find copyright in 4’33. On a broader level, the article uses 4’33 to explore current tensions in UK copyright law including: whether copyrightable subject matter is a closed list, the role of the merger doctrine, and the nature of identifiability. 4’33 therefore illustrates both the good, and the bad, aspects of contemporary copyrightable subject matter.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in European Intellectual Property Review following peer review. The definitive published version, Goold, P. & Algazlan, N. (2025). The UK’s evolving copyright subject matter through the lens of John Cage’s 4’33. European Intellectual Property Review, 47(8), pp. 492-502., is available online on Westlaw UK.
Subjects:	K Law > K Law (General) K Law > KD England and Wales M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music
Departments:	The City Law School The City Law School > Academic Programmes
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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